Canada edges U.S. in women's hockey pool play

The teams are still expected to meet again in gold-medal matchup

Associated Press

Associated Press

Published 11:56 pm, Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Meghan Agosta-Marciano #2 of Canada celebrates after scoring her second goal against Jessie Vetter #31 of the United States in the third period during the Women's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game on day five of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Shayba Arena on February 12, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Matt Slocum - Pool/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 461427075

Megan Agosta scored twice and assisted on Hayley Wickenheiser's goal to lead Canada to a 3-2 victory over the United States on Wednesday in a tense preview of the expected gold-medal match.

Agosta scored in the second period to tie the game at 1, and Canada added the go-ahead goal 93 seconds later on a shot that U.S. goalie Jessie Vetter seemed to have stopped, drawing a whistle from the referee. But the puck trickled through her pads and over the goal line.

A video review confirmed it went in before the whistle.

The U.S. pulled the goalie down 3-1 with more than two minutes left and cut the deficit to one on Anne Schleper's goal.

Women's downhill skiing: Tina Maze of Slovenia and Dominique Gisin of Switzerland were declared co-gold medalists, the first time in Olympic Alpine history a race was won in a tie. The favorites, Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany and Julia Mancuso of the U.S., were afterthoughts. Hoefl-Riesch, eyeing a record-equaling fourth Olympic Alpine gold, finished 13th while Mancuso was eighth.

Snowboarding:Kaitlyn Farrington of the United States defeated defending champion Torah Bright in the women's halfpipe. 2002 Olympic champion Kelly Clark took bronze to give the United States another medal.

Area athletes: In Nordic combined skiing, Bill Demong of Vermontville finished 24th in the men's 10k normal hill event in which Eric Frenzel of Germany took gold.